The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党) commonly referred to as “Jiminto” in Japanese, held their party leader election on September 29, 2021. The party leader election chooses their party president for the next 4 years, while presidents who’ve won the election held between periodic 4-year elections only serving the remainder of their predecessor. The party election is administered by the Party Presidential Election Administration Committee, with the electoral system distributing 382 votes to the elected national Liberal Democrats members of parliament, and 382 votes to the party members. The candidates for the party leader were Taro Kono, Fumiyo Kishida, Sanae Takaichi, and Seiko Noda. As in the election held on September 29, since no single candidate out of four won over 50% of the votes, the election moved to the second stage between the top two candidates, Fumiyo Kishida who won 256 votes, and Taro Kono who won 255 votes. However, in the second stage of the election, the total votes for party members are reduced to 47 votes, one for each prefecture. In the end, Fumiyo Kishida was elected as the party leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, with 249 MP votes and 8 party member votes, compared to the 131 MP votes and 39 party member votes won by Taro Kono. As a result, former president of Liberal Democrats Yoshihide Suga resigned his post as both the president of the party and the Prime Minister of Japan, paving the way for Fumiyo Kishida as the 100th Prime Minister of Japan.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a snap general election in August just as his poll numbers were riding high compared to his rival candidates. The snap election was set for September 20, however, PM Trudeau’s ratings dipped after he decided to call for a snap election. The reason behind the dip in popularity could be attributed to the fact that the majority of Canadian voters were not interested in a snap election, and the fact that the Canadian general election was fixed for October 2023. Even with the dip in the Liberal Party’s popularity, the snap election held on September 20th resulted in no major difference compared to the 2019 general election. The Liberal Party gained four extra seats, while their major opposition the Conservative party neither gained nor lost any seat. The result ultimately did not change the power dynamic within the Canadian parliament, but the voters have given Prime Minister Trudeau his minority government to build back Canada better out of COVID-19. In this election, the Liberal Party received 32.62% of the votes with 159 seats, the Conservative party received 33.73% of the votes with 119 seats, the Bloc Quebec received 7.66% of the votes with 33 seats, the New Democratic Party received 17.76% of the votes with 25 seats, and the Green Party received 4.22% of the votes with 2 seats. Even though PM Trudeau’s gamble to capitalize his popularity to grab the majority government has failed, he will head back to running the government with a minority government.
In the second-ever recall election which reached the ballot in California, Governor of California Gavin Newsom won the recall election in a landslide with 63.9% of votes. To this day, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only candidate who won the recall election against the incumbent Governor in California, where he outran the incumbent Governor Gray Davis to the ballot in 2003. With only two incumbent Governors ever successfully recalled in the history of the United States, Governor Newsom survived his recall election with 63.9% voting “no” to the question “Shall GAVIN NEWSOM be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?” For those voters who voted “yes” to the question, they had the choice to pick a candidate to replace the incumbent governor by filling the box next to the name. Amongst the 53 candidates who ran against Governor Newsom, Republican candidate Larry Elder received the most vote with 47% of the 36.1% “yes” vote, raking in 2.4 million votes. The special election first took its shape from a fringe section of the Republican Party back in February 2020, but was soon mainstreamed to the whole California Republican Party. To request a recall election against the incumbent Governor of California requires a petition of a minimum of 12% of the signatures from the previous California Gubernatorial election. After such a petition was successfully conducted, the Secretary of State of California approved and conducted the election as outlined in the California Constitution (Article II, Section 13-19). However, such a recall election raised the eyebrows of many, who are now questioning the legitimacy of such recall elections due to the potential disruption to democracy. While many questions were raised, the special election took place on September 14, 2021, where Governor Newsom won and will continue the remaining term as the Governor of California.
On the 20th anniversary of the tragic September 11 attacks, US leaders came together to promote unity and relinquish the anguish of families of those affected. The US President Joe Biden visited three sites of the hijacked plane crashes, as he made rounds to the first responders. Along with President Biden, former President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama visited the site of the World Trade Center, side-by-side wearing a blue ribbon. In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, former US President George W. Bush and Vice President Kamala Harris made a speech, commemorating those fallen and the danger of terror in the 21st century. Former President Bush called out domestic terrorism as vital to be resolved, “We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come, not only across borders but from violence that gathers within.” As he warned the dangers of domestic terrorism, he added that the United States is going to struggle to achieve unity, “When it comes to the unity of America, those days seem distant from our own.” After former President Bush gave his remark, Vice President Kamala Harris promoted the power of unity, “If we do the hard work of working together as Americans, if we remain united in purpose, we will be prepared for whatever comes next.” While many former presidents attended 9/11 commemorative events, former President Donald J. Trump attended a boxing match as a commentator. After the event, President Trump visited the local Manhattan firefighters and police officers and encouraged them. Just as the 20th anniversary approached, the Afghanistan withdrawal led former President Bush to disapprove of the withdrawal, while former President Trump criticized the Biden administration for the poor withdrawal. Even with pandemic and political tensions high, America and the world came together to commemorate 9/11. Never forget.
The Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on September 3 announced that he would not be running in the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party “Jiminto” presidential election. His decision to refrain from running in the next presidential election came days after the speculation into decisions he will have to make for the House of Representatives election. With the Prime Minister acknowledging that he will be resigning as the Liberal Democrat president, the path to new candidates has opened. Former Liberal Democratic Party Chairman for the Policy Research Council Fumio Kishida, former Minister of Interior Sanae Takaichi, Minister for Administrative Reform & Regulatory Reform Taro Kono, and a couple of others have already confirmed their desire to run in the upcoming party leader election. According to the polls conducted by Nikkei, Prime Minister Suga faces one of the lowest approval ratings of 34% and a disapproval rating at 56%. With a low approval rating and rising COVID-19 cases, Japan will have a new Prime Minister after the national election this year.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), an intelligence agency in the United States government released a report on their findings of the origin of SARS-CoV-2. In the unclassified summary of the report, the intelligence community assesses that the likely origin of COVID-19 is China, however, the precise origin in regards to whether it’s a natural cause or genetically engineered is still up in the air. The report reiterates that there are two possible explanations and that the intelligence communities are split in their current reports,
“After examining all available intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC remains divided on the most likely origin of COVID-19. All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident.”
In the closing segment of the report, the intelligence community concluded that the current pieces of information are not enough to develop a conclusive intelligence assessment and that they would require China’s assistance for a further conclusive finding. The conclusion was not concrete, and it blamed Beijing for noncompliance, which seems to have attracted the attention of China. Fu Cong, Chinese director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ arms control department, objected to the report claiming that the report is politicized, “Scapegoating China cannot whitewash the U.S..” Even though the report may lack conclusiveness, Beijing’s opposition to American involvement in searching for the origin of COVID-19 is vivid.
After 20 years of the Afghanistan government’s rule in Afghanistan under the security of the Western powers, the Taliban has once again assumed charge of the country. The take over occurred in the midst of the United States implementing a plan to withdraw their troops and vital personnels from Afghanistan, however, the Taliban increased their capability and took control of the capital Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was subsequently ousted, but he managed to escape the Taliban by fleeing the country. It was only two weeks until the full withdrawal from Afghanistan was set to be complete, but in a turn of events, the Taliban has taken control of the majority of the regions controlled by the Afghan government, diminishing the Afghan government in a matter of days. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his interview on CNN with Jake Tapper denied the events in Afghanistan when compared to its similarity with the events in Saigon, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War withdrawal. Secretary Blinken was adamant that the United States and its allies were successful in achieving their objective, the reduction of Al-Qaeda and the elimination of Osama bin Laden, “We went into Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission, and that mission was to deal with the folks who attacked us on 9/11. We have succeeded in that mission, the objective we have set, bringing those who attacked us justice, making sure that they couldn’t attack us again from Afghanistan. We succeeded in that mission.” Just as Secretary Blinken defended the withdrawal as without major issues, President Joe Biden spoke from the East Room of the White House to defend his action of approving the full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after the former President Donald Trump signed the deal with the Taliban to limit US forces, “I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces.” Now, Afghanistan translators and other personnels who aided the United States against the Taliban are seeking immediate evacuation from Kabul International Airport, while over 3,000 US troops have been deployed to the airport to aid in the withdrawal. While tens and thousands of at-risk Afghans are awaiting their evacuation at the Kabul International Airport, some decided to cling onto and forcibly enter the airplanes leading to at least 5 deaths. While the United States is refusing to recognize the Taliban when they take control of Afghanistan, the Chinese government spokesperson commented that they are ready for a “friendly and cooperative” relationship with the new Afghanistan. The Taliban has now taken control of Afghanistan, and in their first public press conference told reporters of their plans to peacefully await the full withdrawal of the US forces in order for the occupation to end. In an interview with NPR, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen responded to a question on whether they would allow American citizens to leave the country peacefully, “Yes, on the basis of the Doha agreement, the Americans should leave peacefully and they withdraw from Afghanistan peacefully. So during their withdrawal from Afghanistan, we will not attack them.” Contrary to their statement, it has been reported that the Taliban are going door-to-door in search of people who aided in the operations conducted by the United States and its allies. In addition to their retaliations, Afghan women have been under greater scrutiny as a result of the radical approach taken by the Taliban under Islamic Law.
After 16 days of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, now the Olympic torch has been passed on to the Paris 2024 Olympics. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Team USA tallied the most gold medals with 39 and 113 total medals. Team USA was narrowly followed by China with 38 gold medals and 88 total medals. The host nation Japan came in third with 27 gold medals, the most in their history in the Olympics competition. The Paris 2024 Olympic host nation France took home 10 gold medals, winning the judo team final against Japan. In the closing ceremony for Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Olympic flag was passed on from the Governor of Tokyo Koike Yuriko to IOC Chairman Thomas Bach, and then to Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo. Even though the Tokyo Olympics have ended their competition, Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will begin their competition on August 24 until September 5.
In France, the parliament passed a bill requiring vaccine proof or negative COVID-19 tests in order to enter restaurants or domestic travel. President Emmanuel Macron visited health centers as he condemned the anti-vax protestors for their lack of responsibility, “That is not freedom, that is called irresponsibility, that is called selfishness.” President Macron then went on to reiterate the need for vaccines, “A society only holds together when the freedom of each person is respectful of others, and therefore it is based on rights and duties.” France is experiencing another surge in COVID-19 infections as the nation surpassed England in their vaccinated population, but the percentage of population fully vaccinated remains at 47% which is slower than their neighboring European countries.
In Japan, the COVID-19 infections saw a dramatic uptick as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics began its tournaments. In Tokyo, the capital prefecture of Japan, the COVID-19 infection reached new heights as it surpassed 3,800 cases in a day. With more than 10,000 new cases every single day in Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced new restrictions, “The government is dealing with the situation with a strong sense of urgency. At the request of local governments, I decided to call a meeting of experts on Friday to discuss the state of emergency and quasi emergency measures meant to curb the virus’s spread.” The prefectures of Tokyo and Okinawa are currently under a state of emergency, with the prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Osaka set to be under a state of emergency from August 2, 2021. With the percentage of population fully vaccinated at 27%, Japan is experiencing a slow start to the vaccination efforts compared to their European counterparts.
Friday 23, 2021 8 p.m. JST, the much-awaited Tokyo 2020 summer Olympics held an opening ceremony. After a year of wait, Tokyo Olympics was held with no attendees due to the lockdown placed by the Japanese Government. This year’s competition will be joined by 205 teams, along with the refugee Olympic team organized for the first time in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. The torch for the 2020 Olympics began its journey on March 25, 2021, and the runners traveled through all 47 prefectures making up Japan. After four months of torch medley, Tokyo 2020 Olympic cauldron was lit by Naomi Osaka, after being passed on by six children from prefectures affected by the Great East-Japan Earthquake. Now after the opening ceremony, the competition will be held over 16 days and end on August 8, 2021. After a year of COVID-19, the International Olympic Committee has decided to add “together” into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic, “Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together,” committing to further unity amongst the international community.
The Liberal Conservative 